#I just wanted to design a teen Nikki and this happened

[carlotta-the-nerd-winters]

Rough Diamond: Chapter Two - It’s Alright, I’ll Be There

Next Morning…

Downstairs was lively for once as she headed down, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The smell of cooked bacon had her stomach growling as she wandered into the kitchen.

“Morning mum,” Gloria greeted, grabbing a mug from the rack. “Is the kettle still hot?”

“Aye just used it five minutes ago,” Kathleen answered, accepting the kiss on her cheek. “Evie still asleep?”

“Oui, cher,” Gerald answered, appearing in the kitchen, and grabbing plate of food. “Jet lag. Bonne matinée, Ria.”

“Bonne matinée, da,” she greeted, kissing his cheek and grabbed another mug. “You want a coffee?”

“Oh, that sounds good. Charlie, Victor, did you two want a cup?”

“Tea,” they both chimed as she poured a few more cups. Gloria took the cups in whilst Kathleen slowly brought in breakfast as the others sat at the table. The morning newspaper sat in front of her father’s seat, ready and waiting to be read.

“Lee and Raihan’s match is on,” Victor announced, turning on the TV. He flicked through the channels until he landed on the sports channel and sat back. “Isn’t he coming ‘round later?”

“Aye. And we’re having dinner with the Greys,” Kathleen informed them as footsteps came down the stairs. “Breakfast is on the table, Evie.”

“Thanks mum,” Evie yawned, entering the lounge room. Her black hair was sticking up in all places.

“Sleeping Beauty’s finally up,” Charlie teased as she sat down, and Gloria passed her a cup of tea.

“Shove it up your arse,” she flipped him off, earning a look from their mother.

“Leave her be,” Kathleen told Charlie who held his hands up in surrender. They all began digging into their breakfast, chatting amongst themselves while the match was on. “That reminds me. Victor I need you to pick your sister up from the station this afternoon.”

Victor paused, holding his cup in mid-air. “Raihan not joining us for tea?”

“Unfortunately, not. He’ll be busy with the league preparing for the upcoming season. I don’t want Nikki alone this late into her pregnancy,” Kathleen said, cutting into her bacon. “I want my grandson safe and sound.”

“Arceus, you’re going mental with the baby. He’s not even born yet.”

“I don’t see you giving me a grandchild anytime soon, so shush it,” she shot back. Charlie snickered and Kathleen whirled onto him. “Don’t be cheeky. You can’t even find a nice girl to settle down with.”

“Why are you on me?” he complained as the front door opened.

“Hello, hello,” Hop’s voice rang out from the entrance.

“In here, love,” Kathleen called as the young teen entered the lounge room. “Morning, Hop. You want some breakfast?”

“I’m good, thanks. Mum’s already filled me up. I came to get Ria,” he said, leaning on the back of her chair. He glanced at the TV, seeing the match. “Lee beat him again?”

“Like always,” Victor answered as Gloria drained the rest of her tea. “He got close though. Had him down to Charizard,” he sipped his tea and looked at the pair. “Excited for your Pokémon?”

Hop nodded, grinning widely. “Barely slept a wink. What’d you give him, Gerald?” he asked, glancing at Gloria’s father who was reading the newspaper.

“Divulgacher, Hop,” Gerald responded as Gloria rose from her seat. Grabbing the dishes, she headed into the kitchen with Evie behind her. The two washed and dried the dishes, hearing the animated discussions from the lounge room.

“Nikki told me that you’re having trouble deciding what to do after graduation,” Evie said, drying the plate Gloria offered to her. “Why not take up an art degree? Da says your drawings are brilliant.”

“Yeah but what kind of job can I get with an art degree?” she asked, scrubbing the fry pan. “I need something that can guarantee a stable job. Something that says ‘hey, you won’t be broke’.”

Evie tilted her head slightly. “There’s plenty of work. You could be a graphic designer. Or even take over the day-care. Da’s hoping to keep it in the family.”

“Or I could travel for a bit. See the world,” Gloria suggested with a shrug of her shoulders, handing her over the last plate and draining the sink. “Did you always know what you wanted?”

“Arceus, no. I wanted to be a lawyer at first. And then I realised how boring and stifling that job was,” Evie laughed, putting the last dish away. “Going on my journey helped me figure it all out. You have time.”

Slowly, Gloria nodded, moving to hug her sister. “Thanks,” she murmured into her shoulder.

“Just doing my job,” she squeezed tightly before patting her back. “Go and get dressed. You’ve got to meet with Lee at the station or else he’ll end up in Kanto with his shit sense of direction.”

She laughed, leaving the kitchen and ran upstairs. Rookie was now awake, sitting comfortably on his perch. He was cleaning himself as she got dressed in a simple pink button dress and threw the grey cardigan over the top.

“Ready to get going?” she asked, grabbing her brown bag.

“Squi,” Rookie confirmed, shaking himself off and hopped over to the open window.

“I’ll see you down there,” Gloria said, leaving her bedroom. Hop waited at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed and foot tapping on the ground. “Settle down, I’m here.”

“I don’t want to be late! I haven’t seen Lee in months,” he complained as they left her house. Travelling down the dirt path, the many cries of nearby Wooloo echoed across the valley. Rookie flew ahead with Hop’s Wooloo chasing underneath. “He’s still growling like Lee’s Charizard.”

“Why is that a bad thing? It’s freakin’ adorable to hear it,” she said as Rookie returned, flapping his wings. “Is Lee there?”

“Corv,” he confirmed as Hop grabbed her wrist.

“Better step on it before his fans drown him,” the teen commented, jogging down the dirt road and dragging her with him. As they got closer, the crowd surrounding the station got bigger. It seemed all of Postwick and Wedgehurst had gathered to meet the champion. “That’s gonna be hard to get through.”

“Then we’re just gonna have to be patient,” she said, removing her wrist and crossing her arms over her chest. It took about two minutes before Hop became too impatient to wait as he hollered at him.

“Lee!” the young teen shouted over the crowd, waving his arms up to grab his brother’s attention. It seemed to work as Leon moved through the crowd, smiling at his younger brother.

“So, my number one fan in all the world has come out of his way to pick me up,” Leon commented with Charizard not far behind him. “Look at you,” he marvelled, placing both hands on Hop’s shoulders. “I reckon you’ve grown…exactly an inch and a quarter since the last time I saw you.”

“Yeah, he’s finally taller than me,” Gloria joked, earning an elbow to her side from her friend. Leon turned to her, smiling down at the smaller teen.

“Ria, still climbing everything in sight?”

“I haven’t climbed your brother if that’s what you’re hoping.”

Both of the Grey men had red faces at her comment, with Hop making weird noises that shouldn’t be possible to make from one’s mouth. Leon just hid his face with his hat, no doubt trying to be anywhere but there.

“Ria!” Hop complained as she shrugged her shoulders. He shook his head furiously, lightly hitting both cheeks before staring at his older brother. “Whatever! Bet I can beat the both of you back home,” he challenged before sprinting away.

“What happened to a countdown?” Leon called after him, sighing and sharing a smile with the brunette. “He never changes.”

“Consistency is his charm,” she agreed with a laugh as the pair began jogging back up the dirt road and back to Postwick. As expected, the minute Leon showed up his parents home, his mother ambushed him. Theresa monopolised her eldest son’s time—much to Hop’s chagrin. Then Victor and Charlie came around and the three friends began catching up.

It took about four hours before Hop exploded and dragged his brother outside to the small, makeshift battle ground in the Grey’s front yard.

“Come on, Lee! You promised us a present,” Hop reminded him, releasing the hold on his brother, and standing beside Gloria, hands on his hips. “So out with it! What’d you pick up from Gerald?”

“Impatience isn’t an attractive trait, mate,” Victor commented, having followed them outside with Charlie right beside him. “Turns the ladies off.”

Gloria noticed the tips of Hop’s ears glow red. “Shove off Vic!” the young teen exclaimed as the men laughed.

“Right then,” Leon cleared his throat, the smile still evident on his face. “The greatest gift from the greatest champion,” he reached into his pockets, pulling out three pokéballs. “It’s showtime you guys.”

Three beams of light were released, forming three forms, and revealed themselves to be a Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble. The three Pokémon knew Gloria already, cheerfully greeting her before popping around the front yard. Grookey climbed the large tree, tapping away at the branch with his tiny stick. Sobble instantly dove straight for the small pond, seeking comfort in the water. Scorbunny ran around like the speedster he was, leaving a small trail of flames in his wake.

Charlie sighed, releasing his Vaporeon and wordlessly pointed to the flames. The water-type let loose a few small squirts of water from her mouth, dowsing the flames.

“All right line up you guys,” Leon ordered, catching their attention. The three Pokémon returned, standing in a line next to Leon. “Who’s going first?”

“Ladies first,” Hop offered, and she rolled her eyes.

“Now you wanna be a gentleman,” she said sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest. She studied each Pokémon as she thought about the first three gyms. Milo’s was always first on the list as he tended to go easy on Gym challengers. His typing was grass, something weak to fire. By the time she’d reach Nessa’s water-types, she should have caught a grass or electric-type. “I’ll take Scorbunny.”

Scorbunny bounced over as she crouched down, accepting the high-five he gave her with a smile. Hop decided on Grookey while little Sobble was left standing on his own.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be coming with me,” Leon reassured the small water-type, crouching down as Charizard towered behind him. “Charizard will show you the ropes. He’s strict—but real strong and real kind too.”

As Hop got his newest Pokémon to socialise with Wooloo, Gloria brought out Rookie. The Corvisquire recognised the small fire-type, greeting him with a small pat on the head with his beak.

“What am I going to call you?” Gloria murmured, watching the two Pokémon interact. Scorbunny’s energy was on a whole other level and the large smile he wore was infectious. He was positivity in a small package. “How about Blaze?”

Scorbunny tilted his head before nodding, a wide grin on his face. “Scor!”

“Alright, Blaze it is,” she agreed, hearing a snicker behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she found her two older brothers trying to not laugh. Correction—Charlie was trying to not laugh. Victor was chuckling, holding his brother’s shoulder. “What’s so funny, Chuckles?”

“Arceus, you’ve never been good at names. Blaze?” Victor laughed as she rose to her feet. “Growlie, Rookie…Blaze!”

“Shove it you arse!” she exclaimed, kicking his knee, turning his laughs into groans of pain. “Like you’d do any better.”

“Nah, he’s not clever enough to come up with anything original. He’s used to reading lines someone else wrote for him,” Charlie teased, hands in his pockets before smiling down at Blaze. “Train him well and you’ll breeze through Milo.”

“Aye, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” she agreed just as Hop challenged her to a battle. The only rule was they could only use Grookey and Blaze seeing how they were new additions. Leon supervised the match whilst Charlie and Victor stood on the sidelines. Evie and Sonia eventually joined them, watching the two teens have a battle.

It took three minutes for it to end in a victory for Gloria and she noticed an exchange of money between her brothers. “You bet against me Vic?!”

“Not by choice. Someone had to cheer for Hop,” Victor defended himself as Hop joined her in the protest.

oOo

That Evening…

Evie, Gloria, and Charlie had finished setting up the two large tables when Victor returned with Nikki waddling beside him. Unlike the rest of the older Aegis siblings, there wasn’t a tearful greeting between her and Leon. As the eldest Grey son was the rival of Nikki’s husband, the two saw each other often enough.

Instead, he helped her to a seat and brought her a plate of food.

“No Teddy?” Leon asked as the two families began digging into the large feast prepared by each matriarch.

“Nah. Couldn’t get any leave,” Victor answered, taking a sip of his beer. “I’m just lucky enough that I just finished filming.”

“That spy movie you were bragging about?” Hop asked and Victor nodded. “When’s that coming out?”

The blond pursed his lips. “For Galar? Probably in six-seven months,” he guessed. “After the Gym Challenge season, I’ll be doing a publicity tour to promote the movie.”

“The fun never stops,” Evie commented, sharing a nod with her brother. If anyone knew what life was like in the spotlight out of the Aegis siblings, it was Evie. The brunette turned to Gloria. “Mum says I can use your room to store my work while you’re away.”

“Just don’t mess it up and go through my things,” she warned her, taking a sip of the orange soft drink. As the conversations continued, Gloria tuned them out, choosing to look over at the Pokémon. All of Charlie’s eeveelutions were in full display, along with Nikki’s three Pokémon. Lopunny was holding Blaze in her lap, feeding him. No doubt practicing for when the baby arrives.

Evie’s Beautifly, Ribombee, Ampharos and Meowstic were happily catching up with Victor’s Roserade and Staraptor—particularly Meowstic sharing her food with Roserade. Leon’s team just seemed happy to relax and chill for once.

Gloria tuned back in when she heard Charlie debating with Leon why mega-evolution was better than Dynamaxing. An argument as old as time between the pair and would probably still go on for years to come.

“Arceus, don’t you ever get tired of this argument?” Hop asked, shaking his head. “We all know Dynamaxing is superior.”

“Don’t be daft,” Charlie dismissed immediately. “Mega-evolution tests the bond between a trainer and Pokémon. Dynamax just needs a friggen’ power spot and you’re good to go.”

“Wrong mate,” Leon shot back, pointing his fork at the brunet. “You forgot about the band. You’re getting sloppy over there in Sinnoh.”

Charlie flipped him off as Victor laughed. “Quit laughing and back me up here. Mega-evolution is better.”

Victor shrugged as their attention drew to him. “I mean…it’s easier to shoot scenes than with a giant Pokémon. And Lucario’s form is badass.”

“Vic,” Leon shook his head, clearly disappointed as Charlie turned to Evie.

“I know you’re Team Mega,” he said as she stared at her brother. “What?”

“I’m trying to eat my food and you’re over here having a pissing contest with Lee!” she exclaimed, taking a bite out of her bread roll. She chewed a few times, holding up her left wrist. Sitting nicely in the centre of the silver infinity symbol bracelet, was a clear stone with yellow and red waves running through the middle. “Ampharos is majestic in his mega form.”

The attention shifted to Nikki who smiled half-heartedly at Charlie. “Sorry but Dynamax,” she apologised as he waved her off.

“Your apology is as hollow as Rai’s wins against Lee,” he replied, earning laughter from the others. “But it’s expected you’d side with them. You’re married to a dyna-maniac. And we all know Hop’s gonna agree with whatever Lee says.”

The table fell silent and Gloria noticed the stares pointed at her. She quickly swallowed the mouthful of grilled chicken and shook her head. “I’m not joining in.”

“Oh come off it! You know it’s mega. It’s in your blood,” Charlie said as Leon snorted.

“Half of her blood. The other half calls to Dynamax,” Leon reminded his friend before smiling at the young teen. “So which is better, Ria? And don’t worry, we won’t judge you for your answer.”

“Oh no she’s definitely disowned if she says Dynamax.”

Gloria looked between the two men, taking a sip of her beverage as an excuse to stall answering. No matter what she said, one of them would be slightly pissed—or in Charlie’s case, scandalised.

“Both?” she offered as the two adults groaned.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Songs: It's Alright, It's Okay by Ashley Tisdale. I'll Be There by Jess Glynne.

Glad some of you are enjoying this fic. Please, comment. It's nice to see some likes but...comments are better. I’d especially like to see how you react to the siblings. Also, a big shout out to @plumbella as I am a massive fan of her work and it’s her voice in my head that helps an Aussie gal like myself capture the northern UK spirit and words.

Also, there's a Spotify playlist for this fic which I'll be updating with each song that I listen to for the chapters. It's called Rough Diamond Playlist so check it out.

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Dino Watches Anime (Jan 13)

With the snow outside and cancellations everywhere, I have more time to kick back, relax, and not do anything. Seriously, playing out in the snow and being an absolute bum is my specialty.

Dropped

Darwin's Game 

It just seemed like Mirai Nikki but updated to smartphones instead of flip phones and with a new interface and system. Seriously, it’s like someone watched Mirai Nikki and went “I can remake this and rake in the money”. The animation wasn’t good (according to our local sakuga geek, there were less than 10 animators who worked on the 40 min premiere because of the inhumane conditions of the studio which adds to the yikes), the soundtrack was great (but I won’t watch a show just for the soundtrack/seiyuu cast), and overall, I felt like I didn’t want to put myself through a show like this.

Uta no Prince-sama

I couldn’t do it fam. I watched two episodes and nearly cried on the inside because it felt like Kiniro no Corda but with a new bland face with new bland characters. I never watched either of these fully. I tried to watch just for the seiyuu (*ahem* Miyuki Sawashiro), but imagine having your life hobbies made into an absolute joke by a character who can’t even read music and is in the composition department while her main song of choice is “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and the ikemen around her and swooning over it and writing their own songs for her. The guys all have the same faces too! They’re triangle heads that can only be differentiated by colour palette. I’m telling the difference based on voices at this point. I don’t want the ikemen, but I would like people to be into my music too ya know! You may think that I’m dropping this anime purely out of spite for the story and characters, and you’re damn right I am. 

Seasonal Stuff

Pet

This is this close to being dropped, and I don’t mean for the strong BL vibes. It’s a little cringy but not that bad (I’ve watched a lot of cringe straight romance and to me it’s all the same). It just feels so poorly constructed right now. The universe just hangs by a thread with characters I feel ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for. Everything in this anime feels so cheap. I’m giving this one more week before I give it the axe.

Rikei ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumei shitemita 

Okay, this anime is stupid, but we all went in knowing it was going to be very stupid. You’ve seen the screencaps. You’ve seen the cliches. Now get ready to have a pretentious science spin on it as if you haven’t seen these scenes a million times before elsewhere, and the characters (at least one of them) know it. The art... it’s present. I mean, character designs are giving the guys of Reddit what they want (especially with Sora Amamiya being really popular and singing the OP along with voicing the main character). Yuuma Uchida is also there. Nothing really worth noting here except “stay in school kids so you can become a pretentious science kid with no people skills!”

Dorohedoro

I might just watch this anime in place of “Pet” because this anime has a much brighter outlook and despite being CG genuinely looks better anyway. It’s the horror that I wanted to fill the void with (since Pet genuinely isn’t scary or innovative). Everything was pretty good with the first episode! I’m looking forward to seeing more!

From here on out, the rest of the seasonal list are the ones I look forward to the most! Get that head lizardman!

Runway de Waratte 

At first, this doesn’t seem like something that would come out of Shonen Weekly, but it inspires a good message about being who you want to be even with limitations if front of you. You have a girl too short to be considered a model and a guy who designs fashion without having the money to pursue it further. I know nothing about style, but I do know things about being short! Maybe that’s why I have such a soft spot for it...

ID:Invaded

This anime gets more interesting as we go along. I’m all into murder mysteries and things like that, and with the sci-fi mixed it, I checked to make sure I was up-to-date with this one. Each episode gives a new mystery with more details outline our jaded and imprisoned detective’s motives and backstory. I wasn’t sold on the character designs at first, but once you get over that hurdle, it’s all good. I like the psychological aspects of it too!

Kyokou Suiri 

Ever wish you had a female protagonist who was upfront about her romantic motives? Ever wanted to watch a show involving youkai? Here’s the show for you! Plus, her character design is so cute. Mamo sang the ED for this anime too. The animation is great, the story looks amazing (read ahead a few chapters in the manga), and this is one of my most highest anticipated anime for the season!

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun

Here’s one of my favourite pilot episodes! This anime left such a strong impression on me that I went straight to my non-otaku friends going, “You’ve gotta see this guys”. The art style is consistent with the manga, and according to the not-so-quiet manga readers, we’re in for a really good anime. 

All the characters in this anime are also adorable and really simple-minded on the surface. Hanako-kun being a boy is a really funny twist on the local urban legend (I’m one of those kids who never dared to say “Bloody Mary” in the washroom so what can I say?)

Recently Completed

Hana to Alice: Satsujin Jiken

Remember Aku no Hana? This is what happens when rotoscoping has a bit more budget. This anime was slow, a little cringy, but it felt really real. The voices felt real, the characters felt real, and the story felt... mostly real. I don’t regret watching this movie art style and all because I think it captures a bit of the exaggerations of being a teenager (rumours blow up like balloons)

Sennen Joyuu

Satoshi Kon really has a certain way of telling stories. I’ve watched Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent, and Tokyo Godfathers, and while this didn’t have as strong of a punch as the latter, this film was still strong. It shows a story of a young maiden’s resilience, perseverance, and undying love... all things I can’t relate to... but it was good!

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

This show was a trip. You thought it was a fanservice anime until things got really heavy. This anime was funny, it made me feel things with the themes it took on, and it made me remember that the best girl doesn’t always have to win to be a good anime. The art was cute and sweet, the voice acting was so fricking funny (according to the cast, the improv wasn’t always included but the ones that were left along with the dialogue were pure gold), and the story was exceptional for an anime which seemed to have no base whatsoever. And plus, this had something a lot of anime don’t... A CONCLUSIVE ENDING. Give this anime a watch if you haven’t. It’s melodramatic comedic romantic teen drama at its finest.

Orange

Speaking of melodramatic romantic teen dramas, here’s another one that fits that bill! Minus the comedy, more suicide, and far less cohesive plot. Imagine throwing letters into the Bermuda Triangle and having your 16-year-old selves really reading those letters. I was wondering how they were going to explain sending their letters to the past, but they should’ve come up with better BS than that. Aside from really bad plot holes, this anime was alright. It was slow... really slow. I finished this whole 13 episodes plus the movie in about 2.5 hours after trimming the slow recaps. 

The art was alright. The story was slow, but near the end (excluding the last episode and the movie) it got really heavy. It hit close to home. I struggled with suicide for years, and I felt what this character felt. Certain lines of that dialogue just hit hard. It was depicted in a way that didn’t feel as romanticized. He wasn’t saved by just one person, his trauma didn’t go away just like that, it took a group of friends and planning to help him realize that there was more to life then just regrets.

Would I recommend this? I mean, it was recommended to me, but I’m not forcing this anime on anyone... not because of the themes but because it was darn boring and cliche 70% of the time.

Still Watching

Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha

Same things apply as previous entries

Hunter x Hunter (2011)

My brother expected me to finish this a while ago but I put it on the back-burner because the number of episodes seemed daunting. Everything else is good though.

Sousei no Onmyouji

I only watched the first episode.

Boku no Hero Academia Season Four

Same things apply as previous entries. It seems like the Overhaul arc will end in the next episode or two (depending on how much they milk this).

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Groundhog Day but isekai. Seriously, this is a pretty big staple in terms of big isekai. Everyone’s fighting over who’s the best girl meanwhile Subaru is trying his best not to die every five minutes. Seriously, Subaru is a champ and what I’d want out of a Mary Sue isekai protagonist. Get em Subaru. Prove to me you’re not a car.

This will be me for the next few days because it’s getting colder where I am so watch me slip on the ice and die!